Dec201003Friday

Lord, in our sins we grope in the dark;
Help us as we strive to believe.
Grant us the grace to see with our heart
What our eyes may fail to perceive.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith let it be done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly ordered them, ‘See that no one knows of this.’ But they went away and spread the news about him throughout that district. (Matthew 9: 27-31)

Reflection

We have heard it said often enough to become passé — “To see is to believe.” But the reverse is actually more accurate: “To believe is to see,” because it is our lack of faith that prevents us from understanding things beyond our ken. Refusing to believe keeps us in the darkness of ignorance, just as the gift of faith leads us to the light of wisdom.

The two blind men were determined to reach Jesus even though they could not see their way to Him. They cried out loudly to Him in order to be heard above the din of the crowd following Jesus. When Jesus finally came to them and asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” they answered without hesitation, “Yes, Lord.” And Jesus healed them both, saying, “According to your faith let it be done to you.”

Yes, it will be done for us according to our faith. Before we surrendered to Jesus in total faith and trust in His mercy, many things in life were hidden from us. We could not see what were truly essential in order to have peace of mind, and love and joy in our relationships. Blind to our blessings, we often felt bad that our store or material comforts were just so much, while others seemed to enjoy the bounty of life seemingly without much effort. Now we have come to realize that self-serving interests are what keep people in the dark.

A famous man once said that one man with a strong faith is equivalent to a hundred with only self-interests. The trouble with self-interest is that we cannot see beyond what we “know” and “understand”. Our own scope of knowledge and understanding is far too limited, and much more is achievable if only we suspend our doubts and opt to believe that God created us for far greater things than self. God gave us the gift of faith so that we may learn to love Him through others. Faith has made us become other-oriented. Great men and women of faith like St. Francis Xavier and Mother Teresa have achieved immortality in heaven and on earth because of their service to humanity at great sacrifice to self.

Maybe the real reason why we cannot put our full trust and confidence in God is because we still can’t let go of some attachments that give us earthly pleasure, or some deep-seated guilt feelings that we have not laid out for the Lord to erase. Maybe this short prayer might help….

Heavenly Father, take away this blindness of earthly desires, so that I may be able to see Your divine legacy in serving others, and sharing the Good News of the Gospel. Amen.